Angry orange flame splashed over her shield spell, illuminating the bubble of magical force protecting her from harm.
Alexander reached the egg just as one of the wraithkin appeared before it, poised to strike the defenseless unborn dragon. He stabbed him in the back of the skull, killing him in a stroke, just as the last of the three wraithkin appeared behind him and stabbed him through the upper leg.
He felt white-hot, breathtaking pain shoot through him, radiating from the wound. The wraithkin jerked his tainted dagger free, sending another jolt of violent agony coursing through him, but Alexander detached from his feelings, almost instinctually, and listened to his enemy’s thoughts. His blade whistled through the air, arcing toward the spot where the wraithkin would appear, catching him an instant before he could stab into the egg, cleaving his head in half at ear level. Alexander toppled to the ground as the momentum of the swing put weight on his freshly wounded leg.
Hector and Horace fought their way toward him but another pirate reached him first. Alexander just barely avoided his downward thrust and hacked at his ankle, toppling the man in a screaming mass.
Alexander staggered to his feet as the egg behind him cracked open and the head of an infant dragon peered out into the world for the first time. He met the beast’s eyes, and she croaked at him. He was so captivated by the baby dragon that he nearly failed to block an attack that would have killed him. He swung his sword wildly, deflecting the downward stroke from himself and the hatching dragon just as Jack appeared behind the attacking pirate and cut his throat.
Another pirate swung a mace at Jack, catching him on the shoulder and sending him to the ground, vanishing as he fell.
Hector and Horace fought furiously, back to back, against five pirates surrounding them, all of them trying to find an opening past their deadly twin short swords. Alexander stood his ground in front of the baby dragon that had now broken almost completely through her shell.
The man with the Thinblade strode toward Alexander. Alexander held his ground, putting nearly all his weight on his good leg while warm blood coated his injured leg.
Isabel cast a force-push against the wizard but his shield deflected it. He cast a lightning bolt back at her, arcing brilliantly across the cavern and striking her shield. She staggered back as her magical protective barrier failed.
Another dozen men from the ship were nearly upon them when the man with the Thinblade reached Alexander. As he reached out with Mindbender, listening for the heir of Tyr’s thoughts, a crossbow bolt struck him on the outside of the left arm, slicing deeply and painfully, distracting him for just a moment. Alexander gritted his teeth against the sudden pain as he met the enemy. Had he been listening to the man’s thoughts, he would have shielded Mindbender, but he was too focused on the new and sudden pain in that one crucial moment.
The Thinblade came quick, cutting Mindbender off just above the hilt. Scintillating white light expanded from the broken sword, filling the cave with sparkling, dancing brilliance before it contracted back toward Alexander, surrounding him entirely and then fading away as if the light was soaking into him.
The wielder of the Tyr Thinblade frowned for a moment, then shrugged and casually flicked the blade at Alexander’s head. He caught the Thinblade with his bare hand and punched the man in the jaw with the hilt of Mindbender, nearly falling again as he struggled to gain his balance but yanking the Thinblade out of the pirate’s hand in the process.
“I’ve been looking for this,” Alexander said, dropping the ruined hilt of Mindbender and flipping the Thinblade to his right hand. It felt good, like it was made for his hand. The man stared in surprise.
“How’s this possible?” he said, more dumbfounded than afraid.
“It’s my sword,” Alexander said.
Another crossbow bolt hit him in the chest.
Chloe buzzed into existence. “Bragador comes,” she said.
“Thank you, Little One,” Alexander said silently.
“I’ll take that scabbard now,” he said.
“Not a chance,” the man said. “That sword belongs to my line. You shouldn’t be able to wield it.”
Chloe flitted over to the man and grabbed his belt, vanishing with it into the aether. His scabbard, belt knife, and pouch fell clattering to the floor.
Isabel fired a light-lance spell at the wizard. He leaned into his shield as it failed under the heat of her spell. Hector and Horace fought the five men surrounding them to a stalemate. Jack was down and unconscious.
Everyone froze in place at the sound of a deafening roar. A moment later, two dragons flanking a woman with the colors of a dragon, her eyes glowing with fury and power, entered from another passage.
“Kill him!” the former wielder of the Thinblade bellowed, pointing at Alexander. The dozen pirates charged.
Alexander met the first man with the Thinblade. It felt familiar in his hand as he cut the man in half. The rest of the charging men faltered and began to surround him and the baby dragon cowering behind him.
He lopped the blade off a sword before it could come down on the dragon, exposing his back to a mace attack. It hit his armor, the force of it driving him to one knee.
One dragon roared, the second breathed fire on the pirate ship, engulfing it in flames in an instant and filling the room with bright orange light and heat. The woman who’d entered with the two dragons pointed her hands at the two men nearest Alexander and unleashed a stream of fire at each, igniting both and burning them alive in moments. Alexander could feel the heat wash off them as he struggled to gain his feet.
The wizard fled into a passage followed by the pirate heir of Tyr and half a dozen of his men. The few that remained fell quickly as the two dragons entered the battle with claws and fangs.
Hector and Horace positioned themselves between Alexander and the approaching dragons. Isabel came to his side, helping him to his feet.
“Stand down,” he commanded. Hector and Horace lowered their weapons but didn’t sheathe them.
“Hello, Lady Bragador,” Alexander said as Anja poked her head out from behind him. “Your baby is safe.”
“You stood against those who would harm my child,” she said.
“I did,” Alexander said.
“Why?” Bragador asked, wariness in her voice.
Alexander shrugged, wincing from the movement of his wounded shoulder. “She’s innocent,” he said.
Bragador’s eyes narrowed. “You were injured fighting those who would have killed my Anja.”
“Yes,” Alexander said.
“I still don’t understand why,” Bragador said.
Alexander sighed, leaning heavily on Isabel.
“I’ve sworn to protect the Old Law,” he said. “Anja is innocent. She doesn’t deserve any of this. Also, I knew that you would stop helping my enemies if your child was safe.”
He adjusted his weight and started to fall. Isabel caught him and helped him to the ground.
“He’s lost too much blood,” she said, drawing her belt knife and cutting his trouser leg open to get at the wound. “Oh Alexander, this isn’t good,” she said, tearing his pant leg into strips for a bandage.
“Hector,” Alexander said, pointing toward Jack, who was still unconscious and invisible. “Jack is right there, feel for him and take his hood down.”
Bragador and the other two dragons looked on with suspicion while Anja nuzzled in close to Alexander. Hector found Jack, removed his hood and started inspecting his wound.
“He’s out cold,” Hector said, “but his breathing is steady and he hasn’t lost much blood.”
“Lady Bragador,” Alexander said, slightly slurring his words. “I spoke true when I said we come in peace. Those men we fought were Phane’s. He sent them to steal your egg and use it as leverage against you.”
Isabel tightened his bandage; he gasped in pain and took several deep breaths to steady himself.
“It seems that Anja has taken a liking to you,” Bragador said.
Alexander smiled, gently stroking the baby dragon’s brow. She leaned into his affections.
“You may stay here until your wounds are healed,” Bragador said.
“Thank you, Lady Bragador,” Alexander said, opening the door to his Wizard’s Den. “I’m afraid I can’t meet the price of our bargain. My sword was destroyed.”
Bragador frowned, her slightly glowing eyes seeming to swirl with fire. “It would seem that the item you came to bargain for has been stolen by the same people who stole my egg.”
Alexander closed his eyes, shaking his head.
“We’ll get it back,” Isabel said, as she slathered healing salve on his shoulder wound.
“I don’t see how,” Alexander said. “My leg wound won’t heal for months.”
“Don’t worry about that right now,” Isabel said. “You need to rest.” She motioned to Hector and Horace. They carefully lifted Alexander and carried him into the Wizard’s Den, placing him gently on the nearest bed, then carrying Jack to the next bed over. Anja followed after Alexander, resting her head on the side of his bed and whimpering softly.
Bragador pursed her lips and shook her head as Alexander drifted off to sleep.
***
Isabel couldn’t quite focus. There was a thrumming in her head and she felt like she had to do something, but wasn’t sure what it was or why it needed to be done. She was standing over a man. He seemed familiar but she couldn’t quite understand why. The more she tried to concentrate, the louder the thrumming in her mind grew until it drowned out reason, replacing it with something else.
She looked down through the dim light and saw a knife in her hand. That was it, she was supposed to kill this man, but why? He was asleep, injured, harmless. The thrumming grew louder still.
She raised the knife, poised to strike, if only to silence the maddening noise coursing through every corner of her mind. Her thoughts were thick and gauzy, she struggled to understand what was happening, but the thrumming drowned out everything else except her purpose.
A brilliant flare of light erupted before her.
“Isabel, no!” Chloe said.
She stopped, blinking at the little woman floating on dragonfly wings, trying to understand why she looked familiar, too. Then she looked down again and the thrumming in her mind vanished as she remembered.
She looked at the knife in her hand, then back down at Alexander. As the realization of what she was about to do sank in, she dropped the knife, one hand going to her mouth, the other to her stomach, her head shaking back and forth in denial, tears streaming down her face. She backed away from him, staring at her love with a mixture of terror and gratitude, slumping to the floor against the wall. Alexander stirred but didn’t wake.
She was trapped in her own skin. Phane’s darkness was doing its work, undermining her free will, pitting her against those she loved most. Alexander was hurt, vulnerable. She had nearly killed him. If Chloe hadn’t stopped her, she wasn’t sure she would have realized what she was doing until it was too late.
“I have to leave, Chloe,” she whispered through her tears.
“No, Isabel. He needs you,” Chloe said.
“I need him too, but he’s not safe with me around,” Isabel said. “I didn’t know what I was doing, couldn’t understand what I was about to do. Oh Dear Maker, if I’d killed him …”
“But you didn’t,” Chloe said.
“Only because you stopped me,” Isabel said, getting to her feet and looking around at her sleeping companions. She swallowed hard, then sniffed back her tears.
“I have to leave … now,” Isabel said. “Tell him that I love him with everything that I have and everything that I am. Tell him that I will always love him, no matter what happens.”
“I will tell him,” Chloe said, “but he won’t understand.”
“I know,” she whispered as she bent over Alexander and kissed him gently on the forehead. “But he’ll live.”
Isabel got her pack from the foot of her bed, strapped on her sword and headed for the door to the Wizard’s Den without looking back, lest she lose her nerve.
“And Chloe,” she said without turning, “watch over him.”
“Always,” Chloe said.
Isabel left, crying, not daring to look back. She made her way to the cave entrance and out onto the beach. It took the better part of the night but she found the entrance to the cave where Captain Kalderson was hidden.
She found her way to the little boat they’d used to reach land and pushed it into the water, rowing steadily toward the ship.
“Lord Reishi?” a man said from the railing. “Is that you?”
“No,” Isabel said. “It’s Lady Reishi. Help me aboard.”
Captain Kalderson was there by the time she’d climbed the rope net and clambered over the railing onto the deck.
“Where’s Lord Reishi?” Captain Kalderson asked.
Isabel swallowed hard and shook her head, tears streaming down her cheeks.
“Dead,” she said. “Cast off … quietly or the dragons will find us.”
Even in the dim light, Isabel could see the captain’s eyes go wide. He nodded and started making the rounds, rousing his men and issuing orders in hushed tones. It wasn’t long before they were sailing away from the dragon isle through the darkest part of the night.